US Special Forces from the 101st Airborne Division have been accompanied Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS)forces battling the Islamic State group (ISIS, IS and Daesh) in eastern Mosul close to the front lines of the fighting, “The New Arab “ reported.

The 101st Airborne has been deployed for several months in Iraq and has been tasked with advising and assisting the Iraqi forces to take back the city.

US helicopters were also seen attacking areas of the city under ISIS-control.

According to this report US troops have been active on the eastern front of the battle, which has been led by elite forces from the Iraqi CTS.

US officials has repeatedly denied reports that US troops have had any direct role in the fighting on the ground in Mosul.

Last month, a US naval officer was killed by a roadside bomb north of Mosul.The death was the fourth time a US military member has been killed in combat in Iraq since operations against ISIS began there in 2014.

Since the October 17 start of a broad offensive to retake Mosul, Iraqi forces have already recaptured several eastern neighborhoods.

A senior Iraqi commander said Wednesday that 40 percent of eastern Mosul had now been retaken.

Also on Wednesday, Iraqi pro-government militias cut off the errorists’ last supply line from Mosul to Syria, trapping them in the city for a bloody last stand.